Exercising-machine.



Patented lune25, I901.

A. A. WHIIELY. EX-ERCISING MACHINE.

(Application filed Nov. 20, 1896.)

(No Model.)

J2 ve afar.

n u mus PETERS on. PMoTou'mQ. WASNINGYON. n, c.

PATENT ALEXANDER A. \VI-IITELY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

EXERCISING=MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,050, dated June 25,1901.

[application filed November 20, 1896. Serial No- (H 111056113 T0 (tZZ2.0710211, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER A. WHITE- LY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain Improvements in Exercising-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to exercising machines, and has for its object toprovide cer tain new and useful improvements in exercising-machines, andparticularly to provide what I would describe as a double-actingmachine, or a machine capable of being used from the top or bottom. Itis illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a planview of the machine attached in readiness for use. Fig. 2 is a viewlooking down on the upper support.

Like parts are indicated by the samelet-ter in both figures.

A is the top support, preferably made in substantially the shape shown,with the hook B at its upper middle part, whereby it may be attached tothe fixed eye 0. At each end it is provided with a hook D, and it isalso provided with the two opposed curved bearings E E, set asindicated.

F F are preferably elastic or flexible stops adjustable on the screws GG, which project from the support A. The bottom support J is of similarform, with the hook K to engage the eye L. It is provided with the twohooks M M, placed near the middle, and the two hooks N N, placed nearthe ends. It also has the adjustable stops F G, the same as in the caseof the top support. I have used the term top and bottom support withreference to the machine as shown in Fig. 1; but of course it will beevident that the machine is interchangeable or reversible, so thateither support can be the top or bottom support.

O is a handle secured by the swivel O to the elastic cord 0 which passesover the pulley 0 adapted to be hooked into the hook M by the swivel-eye0 This cord also passes over a like pulley adapted by the swivel O to besecured on the hook D, and is provided with the swivel O'Qwhereby thehandle 0 is secured to it. P is alike handle, with the swivel P securingit to the cord Pflwhich passes over the pulley P attached by the swivelP to the other hook M. P is another pulley over which the cord P passesand which is secured by the swivel P to the other hook D. At the end ofthis cord is the swivel P whereby the handle P is secured thereto. Thesecords are of course elastic, and preferably elastic substantiallythroughout their length, as indicated.

Obviously there may be considerable change in the form and shape of theseveral parts and in their various relations and yet the spirit of myinvention be made use of.

I will now describe'the use and operation of my invention.

It is my wish to produce an exercisingmachine in which there will be nooccasion to adjust, remove, or vary the connection of the several partswhen it is desired to change the angle of operation-that is to say,Iwish a machine which may be used in pulling from the top or downwardlyor from the bottom or upwardly without the necessity of removing orchanging the relation of any of the parts. Now I accomplish this in themanner indicated in the drawings. In such a machine several features areimportant, if not necessary to be present. For example, in a machine ofthis kind, it entirely satisfactory, there must be no engagement at anytime of the handles or any of them with the woodwork or frame on whichthe machine is supported, for if there is such engagement it willinterfere with the action of the machine in various ways and, amongother things, will make noise and disfigure the wood. It is thereforeimportant to have the handles kept at all times parallel orsubstantially parallel with the fiat surface upon which the machine issecured. Moreover, in the use of such a machine it is highly desirablethat the various lengths or strands of the elastic cord will not at anytime cross, overlap, or interfere with each other. Hence it is necessarythat the handles on one support shall be placed outside the pulleysassociated with said support, while the handles at the other support areplaced, when out of use, inside or between the pulleys of such support.These are the features and advantages obtained in the constructiondescribed. If the operator desires to pull from above or from the top ofthe machine, he takes the handles 0 and P disengages them from theirsupporting-hooks at the bottom,and begins to operate the machine. Thusit is evident that he will pull from the top, and also it is evidentthat the elastic cords, being put under pressure by this operation fromend to end, will tend to hold all the parts in fixed relation. The twohandles O and P being supported in the opposed parts E E are tightlyclamped in that position and kept parallel with the hook, so that thereis no tendency on their part to engage the wall or to make any noise.The entire cord is utilized in the action. Now when the operator desiresto work from the other end of the machine he will hang the two handles 0and P on the lower hooks, as indicated, and will take down the handles 0and P from their supports, whereupon the action is the same as before,in effect, the squared endsof the hand portions of the handles 0 Pengaging the hooks N N, and the pressure being applied to said handlesthrough the elastic cord they tend, naturally, to remain in a parallelposition with the hook. This action is also aided by the lineof draft ofthe handles, which is through one side thereof, as indicated in Fig. 1.Both of the supports are preferably held midway and are kept out fromthe wall by the adjustable stops. These stops are made adjustable, so asto vary the posi tion of the machine to accommodate it to inequalitiesof the wall surface. Of course these supports might be secured in otherways.

I claim 1. In an exercising-machine, a support .provided midway withmeans for its attachment to the wall and toward its ends with hearingsto hold it out from the wall, said bearings being adjustable so as toaccommodate for inequalities in the surface of the wall.

2. In an exercising-machine, the combination of a support providedmidway between its ends with means for its attachment to the Wall, abearing part located near each end of the support and projectingtherefrom, so as to engage the wall, said bearings adj ustably connectedwith the support so that they may be adjusted for inequalities in thesurface of the wall.

3. An exercising-machine, comprising two supports, each provided midwaybetween its ends with means for attaching it to the wall, each supportbeing provided with two bearing parts located one near each end thereof,said bearin g parts being adj ustably connected to the supports andadapted to engage the wall and hold the supports in position, fourpulleys, two connected with each of said supports, two cords runningover said pulleys, one end of each cord passing over the lower pulleysand one endof each cord passingover the upper pulleys, the fourendsofsaid cords being provided with handles, holdingdevices associated witheach support for holding the handles when not in use, whereby the loweror upper handles may be used at will without changing the position ofthe cord.

4. In an exercising-machine, the combination of two elastic cords, eachhaving a handle at each end, with four pulleys, two on each cord, andtwo supporting-pieces, one having one of said pulleys at each end andthe other having two of said pulleys midway, and handle attachmentssecured to .eachsupport, substantially as shown and described.

October 10, 1896.

ALEXANDER A. WHITELY.

WVitnesses:

BERTHA (3. SIMS, LILLEY J OHNSTONE.

